Hello out there in bulldog land. It's been a rough month for our little family unit. Luca has been causing a lot hubbub around the house and not to mention some tomfoolery at the dog park so we sought out the help of the professional trainer. I don't mean the good folks you meet at Petco and petsmart. Nothing against those trainers. They are good at what they do, but we needed some next level help and the next level is where we went.
I was hesitant to mention the trainer's name in my earlier post because I hadn't met him yet and I don't endorse anybody or anything until I know what the deal is. Well; now I know.
We just left the training facility of Michael Shire, professional dog trainer and I can honestly say that this dude knows his #%^*. He's been training dogs his whole life and it shows. He brought us into his facility and talked with us about Luca (while observing Luca running around the place) for a full hour. Didn't try to rush us out the door or anything. What I liked about the experience too was no detail of Luca's behavior was too small. Things I thought were trivial (the stuff my girlfriend brought up) turned out to be key factors in what I refer to as Luca's pathology.
I learned more in one hour with this guy than I have in the last year of owning a dog. In other words I feel like I know so much more about how my dog thinks than I did before. And this meeting was completely free!!
And as it turns out, Michael has a 10 year old bulldog named Rosie. When I heard that, i was sold. He knows the breed. He knows their mannerisms and idiosyncrasies. At one point he even said "I know how much you can love a bulldog and vice versa; there will always be a bulldog in my life till the day I die" (loose quote). I tell you the truth; after I heard that I woulda let this guy marry my sister no questions asked.
Now, the dude ain't cheap. For real. For him to come to your house 6 times will cost you a Long Island 2 bedroom rent check. Less for private lessons at the facility which is surely the route we are taking.
I got a good feeling about this although I found out that most of Luca's bad habits can only be broken by a ton of work on our part. One of the things that is gonna be tough is no more sleeping in the bed with us till he earns it. Luca is looking up a me right now from his doggy bed in the floor with a face that says "what did I do wrong?" It's killing me but I gotta be tough for a while. I do let him get away with way too much stuff. Hopefully this time next year I'll have a bully that doesn't pull on his leash or freak out when he sees people or abuse other dogs and then maybe I can have my little guy back up here in the bed with us
I was hesitant to mention the trainer's name in my earlier post because I hadn't met him yet and I don't endorse anybody or anything until I know what the deal is. Well; now I know.
We just left the training facility of Michael Shire, professional dog trainer and I can honestly say that this dude knows his #%^*. He's been training dogs his whole life and it shows. He brought us into his facility and talked with us about Luca (while observing Luca running around the place) for a full hour. Didn't try to rush us out the door or anything. What I liked about the experience too was no detail of Luca's behavior was too small. Things I thought were trivial (the stuff my girlfriend brought up) turned out to be key factors in what I refer to as Luca's pathology.
I learned more in one hour with this guy than I have in the last year of owning a dog. In other words I feel like I know so much more about how my dog thinks than I did before. And this meeting was completely free!!
And as it turns out, Michael has a 10 year old bulldog named Rosie. When I heard that, i was sold. He knows the breed. He knows their mannerisms and idiosyncrasies. At one point he even said "I know how much you can love a bulldog and vice versa; there will always be a bulldog in my life till the day I die" (loose quote). I tell you the truth; after I heard that I woulda let this guy marry my sister no questions asked.
Now, the dude ain't cheap. For real. For him to come to your house 6 times will cost you a Long Island 2 bedroom rent check. Less for private lessons at the facility which is surely the route we are taking.
I got a good feeling about this although I found out that most of Luca's bad habits can only be broken by a ton of work on our part. One of the things that is gonna be tough is no more sleeping in the bed with us till he earns it. Luca is looking up a me right now from his doggy bed in the floor with a face that says "what did I do wrong?" It's killing me but I gotta be tough for a while. I do let him get away with way too much stuff. Hopefully this time next year I'll have a bully that doesn't pull on his leash or freak out when he sees people or abuse other dogs and then maybe I can have my little guy back up here in the bed with us
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I'm so glad you found a trainer you trust, and hope that everything works out for you and Luca. It will be hard to stick to the tough love, those faces definitely melt our hearts, but it will pay off in the end, and then you and Luca will be able to have the relationship you were meant to have. Good luck with your little guy, the hard work, the training, and the consistency will all be worth it. Keep us posted on how he's doing, and keep those adorable pictures coming as well. Luca is so cute. Your great bully parents, good job Dad.
